Wrong Move
by AnimeGirl 144
Summary: AU set after Racing with the Enemy, Part 2. X believes that the Committee is trying to help the world... up until he over hears them planning to kill Speed. They just made the wrong move: do not mess with X's baby brother.


**My first attempt at a Speed Racer TNG story, so here goes nothing. Also, this is a rather long one-shot. Just thought I'd pre-warn you before you invest a lot of time into reading it.**

**All characters belong to Larry Schwarz and Tatsuo Yoshida.**

* * *

X walks down the corridors of the Committee's headquarters, stewing in his own anger that was enough to scare off the many faceless nobodies that kept the HQ running. Alpha was already placed away, resting up and being checked over by the doctors. X was making his way down to the Committee's conference room, having just gotten back from his meeting with Speed, and things hadn't gone how he'd wanted them to go.

_How dare he believe dad's words over mine!_ X thinks in anger. _Who's been the one by his side the entire time? Dad pretty much abandoned him at an orphanage and hasn't been in contact with him until _after_ Speed got to the academy. And after all of that Speed still trust dad over me? How dare he!_

X wasn't angry at Speed so much as he felt betrayed. The two of them were supposed to stick with each other through thick and thin, and yet Speed was abandoning him in favor of their dad. Would X ever steer Speed _wrong_? He was his _big_ _brother_. He wouldn't hurt Speed; he cares for the younger boy and only wants the best for him. Yes, he did run Speed off the road... X shook his head of that, wanting to purge it from his mind as much as possible. Just because he did it didn't mean he liked doing it.

He was passing by the Committee's conference room, ready to enter and explain how the mission went, but he was stopped by the voices inside. They were talking about something important, and curiosity got the better of X. Making sure the coast was clear, he leans his ear against the door, hearing what was being discussed inside.

"Have the plans been finalized?"

"Yes. The bomb should be enough to destroy the Mach Six without any trouble. The explosion will be enough to leave no evidence of any sort."

"It will be a pity to use such a talented racer, but for the better of the world, right?"

The group inside laughed, unaware that their secret weapon was listening outside, horrified to hear what they were saying. He felt betrayed. These were the very people he turned to when his _father_ betrayed him (does this mean his father hadn't betrayed him, but that X _himself_ betrayed them?). Not only that, but they were talking about _killing Speed_! That was not okay in X's books, no matter if Speed believed him or not (wait, that didn't matter; the Committee lied and Speed was right). Clenching his fists, X thinks about entering the room and giving them all a piece of his mind (and fists) for daring to harm his little brother, but he decides to get back at them another way.

_You think you can lie to me, make me betray my own family, make me send Speed off the road, and then plan on killing him and you think you can get away with it?_ X thinks as he practically stomps his way down the corridor, sending his thoughts at the Committee who, obviously, couldn't hear his thoughts. _Well you just angered the wrong big brother._

X hid against the wall, watching the doctors exit the room Alpha was placed in. Positive he was left alone, X snuck his way into the room, finding Alpha sleeping on the bed provided. He wasn't hooked up to anything, confusing X because he thought that the kid was injured. As X was lifting the boy to his feet, Alpha chose that moment to wake up, finding himself being helped by X.

"What... what are you doing?" Alpha asks.

"Getting you out of here," X responds. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Just... just tired..."

"You're not ill?" X asks.

"No... Why would you think that?" Alpha asks as he feels his feet touch the ground.

Alpha watches X's face change into an angry frown.

"Just another lie," X mumbles under his breath. "C'mon, we need to get out of here before they figure out that I'm doing this."

"Why are you doing this?" Alpha asks, letting X help him into the corridor.

"I finally saw the truth," X responds. "And I also discovered that I'm gullible."

Alpha gives a small nod, limping with X's help through the corridor. It was eerily quiet, only concerning the two boys.

"How long do you think it'll take before they figure out that you're going AWOL?" Alpha asks in a low tone of voice.

"Hopefully we'll be in the Shooting Star by then," X responds.

"Me too... do you think we'll be able to get out of here on our own?" Alpha asks.

"Hopefully... I really doubt Speed and the others would come to help us... well, maybe they'd come for you," X responds.

"Don't sell yourself short, X," Alpha says. "I'm sure they'd come for you too."

"...I almost killed Speed, just so I could get away. They're not coming for me," X answers back, looking away.

Alpha remains silent, deciding that saying a word would probably send X over the edge. Plus, the raw emotion in his voice proved to Alpha that X felt guilty about the whole thing. They took another five steps when the alarms went off. X cursed under his breath and moved faster, willing Alpha along as well. The two somehow managed to make it into the garage where the Red Bolt was parked. As much as it sickened him to drive the car (because it represented the lies that had been fed to him and the betrayals he did to his family), his Shooting Star was still at the school, so he had no choice. He placed Alpha in the car and placed the helmet on him before he to the driver's side, just in time for the door to open and the guards to enter. X hops into the driver's side and starts up the car as the guards attempt to crowd him and the car. Snarling, X puts the car into reverse and shoots backwards.

"Hold on to something!" X orders as the car's about to hit the garage door.

He's able to knock the metallic door off of its hinges and make it out into the dark outside. Shifting gears quickly, X begins to make a break for the Academy.

"Well... you're definitely a Racer if anyone dares to question that," Alpha mutters from his seat, offering a stiff laugh.

"How are you feeling?" X asks, ignoring Alpha's comment.

He no longer felt like a Racer; Racers didn't do something this stupid.

"I'll make it," Alpha answers. "Just tired and feeling a little stiff and all, but nothing that's going to kill me."

X nods, noticing lights in his rearview mirror.

"That didn't take long," X mutters.

"I think someone's calling you," Alpha says, hearing the comlink go off.

X pushes the button, seeing the screen come up with the Shadow Woman on it.

"What do you want?" X asks the woman, glaring at her.

"What do you think you're doing? Return Alpha to us this minute and we'll overlook this little mishap," the woman says.

"Not happening. I'm done being lied to," X says. "And if you even think about killing my little brother, you're going to have to kill me first."

"Hm... very well then X. You leave me no choice."

The screen went off, and one of the cars the guards were using slammed into X. X righted his car quickly and knocks the car back.

"If you want to play rough, I'll play rough!" X sneers, hitting the car once more.

He watches it lose control and slam into another car trailing them. X uses the momentary distraction to put distance between himself and the cars behind him.

"Are you going to call?" Alpha asks, breathing heavily as he tries to catch his breath.

"I'm going to have to. I can't afford to let you go back to that place," X says as he begins to send a call for the Mach 6.

Alpha chuckles.

"You know, you're making it very hard to hate you for kidnapping me in the first place," Alpha says.

"I guess I should apologize for that, huh?" X asks as he clicks send.

"If you get us to the Academy, I'll accept that as your apology," Alpha says.

X grins and nods, waiting for his call to go through. If Speed didn't answer, that would be fine; Speed isn't really inclined to answer any of his calls now. But still, X couldn't help but ready himself for the rejection.

* * *

The gang is inside of Speed's garage, each upset with how the events happened, especially after it was revealed that X was the Red Bolt. Speed, Spritle (who had been called down to the garage once the incident was over), and Speed Jr were more upset than angry, compared to the others who were furious (namely Annalise and Lucy). Speed Jr hadn't said a thing after revealing to them that X was the Red Bolt and that he got away. He didn't mention that X ran him off the road; Speed still wasn't able to digest that bit of information. Annalise's rant is interrupted by the Mach 6 beeping at them, demanding attention. The owner of the car runs over to it, finding a call coming in.

"Who's it from?" Speed Sr. asks.

"I don't know. The caller isn't registered in the normal frequencies... It has to be X," Speed Jr. reasons.

"X!" several voices ring out at once.

"That creep! I bet he's calling to rub his victory in our faces!" Annalise sneers, very very angry with X.

"What does he want now, especially after everything he did," Lucy says, just as angry.

"Are you going to answer it?" Conor asks, though he's not as happy as the girls.

Speed Jr. lowers his head, thinking over his options. He glances over at his father, seeking advice. Speed Sr. nods at his son.

"Despite everything, he's still family," the senior Racer responds.

"What!? You can't be serious!" Lucy cries.

"My brother's right. Despite what X did, he's still a Racer, and Racers stick together," Spritle says, backing up his older brother's decision.

Speed Jr. nods; that was all the confirmation he needed. He was upset with what X did to him... but still, X was his big brother, and if there was a way to save him, then he'd do it. He clicks the acceptance button and sees the screen come up.

"X? This is Speed. Can you hear me? What's going on? Why'd you call?"

Lucy appears next to Speed, glaring at the screen.

"And why did you take Alpha!?"

Annalise pushes Lucy out of the way so she can be seen.

"And why are you now the villain?!"

Speed rolls his eyes and pushes the two girls away.

"I don't have much time to explain. I've got Alpha and I'm heading to the Academy now, but I'm being trailed by 10 plus cars," X responds.

"You've got Alpha?" Lucy asks from the side.

"Hi Lucy," Alpha says from where he's sitting. "I can vouch that X broke me out."

"Alpha! Are you alright?" Lucy asks.

"I'm fine Lucy. I can't give details at the moment since we're still being trailed," Alpha says. "Mind coming and giving us a hand?"

"I'm on my way. Just hang tight and I'll be there as soon as possible," Speed Jr. says.

"Understood," X says. He hesitates a moment, like he wants to say something, but ends up thinking against it and ends the transmission.

Speed Jr. immediately starts up the Mach 6.

"You're seriously going out there?" Conor asks.

"Well yeah. I'm not going to leave X and Alpha to those goons," Speed responds, placing on his helmet.

"I'm going as well," Speed Sr. responds.

"I'll go with you," Spritle says.

"Not like I can't stop you from sneaking in anyways," the elder brother chuckles.

"I'm going with you," Damian says.

"I'm going too. I want to give X a piece of my mind in person," Annalise fumes.

"Make sure Alpha comes back safely?" Lucy asks her friend.

"Of course," Speed Jr. says with a grin.

He closes the door and leads the way with the Mach 5, Damian's car and the Spoiled Brat, leaving Lucy, Conor and Chim-Chim to wait for their return.

* * *

"Told you they'd come," Alpha says.

"Yeah, only because you're in the car," X says, avoiding a hit.

"C'mon, your family can't hate you that much," Alpha says, trying to cheer X up.

"I wouldn't put it past them if they did," X mutters.

He swerves out of the way, narrowly getting hit by one of the various cars. He grits his teeth and pushes down on the pedal.

"These guys aren't as easy to lose as I thought they'd be," X says.

"It rarely is," Alpha chuckles, closing his eyes. "I'm going to rest a little, okay?"

"Alright, just don't go comatose on me or something," X responds.

Alpha chuckles and lets himself rest his eyes. X steps on the gas pedal more, making it touch the floor with the meter indicating that he's already at 370 mph.

_I just need to hold out a little more,_ X thinks. _The others will be here and then Alpha will be safe._

X gasps when he receives a hard hit on his side of the car. He almost loses control and hit into the rocks, but he manages to catch himself before he hits them. Gritting his teeth once more, he maneuvers away from the rocks and the car.

_I need to shake these creeps before-_ he pauses in his thoughts when he notices for vehicles headed his way. They were still far away, but would likely arrive within a few moments. _Guess I don't have to hold out for much longer._

"You're not going to make it out of here alive," a goon from one of the cars says, managing to get into his transmission.

The goon in the car manages to ram into X again, hitting the passenger side along the rocks. This makes Alpha wake up once more.

"Uhhh X? I don't know if you know this, but we're hitting the rocks," Alpha points out unhelpfully.

"No duh. I'm trying to fix that, obviously," X responds back.

"Just wanted to make sure you knew that," Alpha says.

X growls under his breath and attempts to hit the goon back.

_This is bad,_ he thinks.

"Hey!" Speed Jr.'s voice comes over the transmission, surprising X. He sounds very angry, something that surprised X more. "Get away from my big bro!"

The Mach 6 rams at the goon's car, managing to get it away from the Red Bolt. X allows himself a second to be surprised before he gets a grip on himself and rights his car. He can see the other three cars still in the back, but they were closer now. Speed turns his car back around and runs up along X.

"You okay?" Speed asks.

"Yeah, just fine," X responds.

"Cool. Dad, uncle, Damian, and Annalise are here too," Speed says.

"Annalise?" X asks in surprise. She had sounded really, _really_ mad when they last spoke.

"Yeah. I'm here. And don't think that just because I'm here rescuing you means you're not going to get the butt kicking of your life when we get back to the Academy," Anneliese says over the radio, glaring on the screen.

X smiles weakly but doesn't say anything.

"Are you okay son?" Speed Sr. asks.

"...Yeah... I'm fine," X responds.

"Would any of you oppose to us having this conversation away from people who want to hurt us?" Alpha asks.

"Alpha Leader's right. We can save the chit-chat once we're back at the garage," Spritle says.

"Speed, you and X stick together and head for the Academy. Annalise, you too. Me and Damien will take up the rear," Speed instructs.

"Got it," a chorus of voices responds.

"Has your car taken too much damage to keep up?" Speed asks his brother.

"My car's never that beaten up," X responds.

"Cool then. Stick to me," Speed says.

Alpha grins over at X.

"And you thought they'd just leave you to die," Alpha smirks.

"Shut up," X responds.

"I'll take that as an 'I told you so,'" Alpha says.

"Shouldn't you be resting or something?"

Alpha chuckles.

"Not with your bad driving." He closes his nevertheless, feeling more secure that he'd make it back to the Academy safely.

Speed shows back up on the transmission screen.

"How's Alpha doing?" Speed asks.

"He's fine. Just tired, from what he says," X responds.

"Well we'll get him back to the Academy soon," Speed comments.

"Hey if you two are done chatting, you each have a car coming towards you!" Annalise cuts in. "Speed, 9 o'clock. X, 3 o'clock."

Both Racer bros. find the cars Annalise warned them about. Taking evasive maneuvers, they manage to get the two cars to slam into each other. Annalise moves around them and gets right back behind the two cars.

"Thanks for the save."

"Hmph. This better not be your attempt to butter me up, because I'm still upset that you'd join an organization that tried to kill me and my father!" Annalise shouts over her end.

"Boys, Annalise, you two head to the Academy while Damian and I provide you the distraction. We'll lead them off your tail," Speed says.

"Right. Stay safe," Speed Jr. says back to his father, speeding up a little more.

X matches his speed, glancing in the rear-view mirror. He hadn't realized that with Speed Sr.'s and Damian's help, the number of goon cars was cut down. X glances back to the path ahead of him.

"You okay?" Speed asked.

X realizes that Speed is asking him the question and he nods.

"Yeah, I'm fine," X responds.

"Cool," Speed says, nodding to himself.

X wasn't sure what to say, especially after their last meeting. He looks over his shoulder once more, and notices Annalise had fallen back, dealing with a goon that had gotten too close to her for comfort. That left a window open for a goon to speed up to the Mach 6, readying a weapon to fire. X notices it and grits his teeth. He decelerates and moves his car right beside the goon's and hits him rather hard, sending the goon away from the duo, protecting Speed from the hit.

"X!" Speed cries in surprise.

"Just dealing with something," X responds, bringing his car back to Speed's side.

"Look, we're almost to the Academy," Speed says. "And Spritle's got security!"

"Here that? We're home free," X says to his passenger.

"No thanks to your driving," Alpha says. "But I accept the apology."

X shakes his head with a slight laugh and follows Speed to the garage. Annalise falls in behind them. Speed parks the Mach 6 in the garage while Annalise and X park their cars outside of the garage. Speed races over and helps X pull Alpha out of the car and walk him inside. Lucy greets Alpha with a smile and helps him to the couch and lays him out on it.

"Where is Speed, and Spritle, and Damian?" Conor asks in worry.

"Behind us. They're drawing the other goons away from us," Annalise responds, taking off her helmet and glaring daggers at X.

Alpha stirs and smiles.

"Hey," he says.

"Alpha Leader. Are you feeling alright?"

"You know, I've been asked that a lot," Alpha chuckles. "But yeah, I'm alright. The rest did me some good, but I think I'll just lay here for a little longer."

X glances at Alpha for a moment before heading back outside. Speed follows after him, not wanting to let X out of his sight again.

"Where are you going?" Speed asks.

"I'm going to destroy the Red Bolt," X answers.

"What?"

"The Committee will be able to hack into the system soon. I'd rather get rid of it now before they can do some damage with it," X responds, getting in the car.

"Where are you going to?" Speed asks.

"The Junkyard of course," X responds.

"Then I'm going with you," Speed says, hopping into the Mach 6. "Besides, it's easier to drive back from the Junkyard rather than walk."

X ponders this for a moment before deciding to just let Speed come with him; it's not like he could talk Speed out of it. The brothers drove off to the Junkyard, not bothering to tell their friends. Once they entered the Junkyard, they drove to the corner where they could destroy the car.

"Are you sure you want to get rid of it?" Speed asks.

"Positive," X says. "I want this thing out of my life, now."

"What made you change? No more than an hour ago you... you ran me off a cliff side," Speed asks.

X freezes slightly but begins to push the car into the car crusher. Speed helps him do so.

"Sorry about that," X apologizes. "I hadn't... I didn't want to do that to you."

"Apology accepted," the young racer says. "Sooo... What made you change your mind about the Committee?"

"The veil was pulled, and I was able to see what the Committee really was," X responds.

"What caused that to happen? When you talked to me you made it sound like they were the greatest thing on Earth."

X closes his eyes, fighting back the urge to snap at his brother.

"They just showed their true nature to me," X responds.

"How?" Speed asks as they manage to get the car all the way into the destroyer.

X hesitates, but decides Speed deserves the right to know the answer.

"They threatened to kill you, and that wasn't okay with me, so I nabbed Alpha and got out of there... and now we're here," X says.

Speed is visibly surprised beside his brother. Even through all the adventure and warnings, Speed was still surprised when his life was threatened. Still, he was surprised that the threat on his life was enough to turn X back over to their side. X still didn't look at Speed, not even as he went and pulled the lever, watching the machine crush the car. Just as the metal began to fold in, X decided that would be a good time to talk again.

"Even if I thought dad was wrong and that the Committee was right, I wouldn't let anything hurt you. You're my baby brother, and for a while, we were all we had... well us and Spritle," X says. "The point is, no matter whose side I'm on, you're still my little brother, and I'm still your big brother, and I'm not going to let anything hurt you."

Speed continues to look at his brother like he had grown a second head. Back at the cliff, he had been afraid he'd lost his big brother; X had actually sent him off the edge. But hearing X's confession made him feel relief that he hadn't lost his brother. Smiling he walks over and hugs him, surprising X. The older brother hadn't been expecting the hug. That was the last he thought he'd be receiving.

"I'm glad you're back. I was really afraid I'd lost you," Speed says.

X blinks before smiling back at his little brother.

"Don't worry little bro. I'm not going anywhere anymore, kay? Racer brothers to the end," X says.

Speed chuckles, "That sounds like a plan."

"Boys?" Speed Sr.'s voice comes over the Mach 6's communicator.

"Yeah dad?" Speed asks as he sits in the front seat.

"Where's your brother?" Speed Sr. asks.

"He's with me. We're at the junkyard, getting rid of the Red Bolt," Speed answers with a grin, seeing his brother sit in the passenger seat from the corner of his eyes. "We're on our way back now."

"Alright, we'll see you two when you get back. Keep your eyes open for any trouble, okay?" Speed Sr. advises to his children.

"Don't worry dad," X speaks up. "We've got each other's back. Nothing can hurt us."

Speed Sr. grins at his sons and nods before ending the transmission. Speed starts up the Mach 6 and glances at his brother.

"How are you feeling?" Speed asks. "Ready to face Annalise?"

"I'm going to have to own up for what I did sooner or later," X says. "Might as well do it now."

"Well don't worry, I won't let her kill you," Speed says with a chuckle, putting the car in reverse.

"Yeah, thanks," X chuckles.

"What are we going to do about the Committee now?" Speed asks as the brothers exit the Junkyard.

"Keep our defenses up," X responds, his eyes growing a little hard in anger at remembering the Committee. "They're going to get more aggressive after what happened today."

"Yeah... well they lost their best racer," Speed says with a grin. "So I think we'll be good."

X grins, chuckling at his brother.

"Thanks bro," X says. "Thanks."


End file.
